Hawaiʻi men's basketball drops close one to Nevada Wolf Pack

In a closely contested match, the University of Hawaiʻi men's basketball team found themselves the losers to the Nevada Wolf Pack, 72-66, at the Stan Sheriff Center on Sunday.​

Noel Coleman and Bernardo da Silva led the 'Bows with 17 points each, and da Silva logged a double-double with 10 rebounds before he fouled out with 1:50 remaining.​

Five Nevada players cracked double figures with Jarod Lucas scoring 16. He was followed by Kenan Blackshear with 12, Nick Davidson with 11, and 10 each from Tre Coleman and K.J. Hymes.​

"I'm really proud of them," Hawaiʻi coach Eran Ganot said of the team. "There's some disappointing things; it's part of the journey."​

The 'Bows led early, but the Wolf Pack did not take long to turn the game into a dogfight. The first half saw a total of 10 lead changes and six ties.​

Da Silva drew first blood for UH, but Blackshear and Tre Coleman scored the next five points for Nevada. Both teams traded buckets left and right.​

Matthue Cotton and Juan Munoz accounted for all three of UH's triples, with Cotton making two.​

At the end of the first half, UH took a scant 37-36 lead. It was a good first half for both teams, as UH and Nevada committed four turnovers each.​

Nevada came out firing in the second half and stole the lead 70 seconds in with a Davidson field goal. They built an eight-point lead by the 13:14 mark while UH racked up a lot of fouls.​

"We just have to be more disciplined as far as fouling," da Silva said.​

"There's still a lot of work to do cleaning up those mistakes," Noel said. "Next week is going to be very important for us."

UH did not give in and made multiple runs. They tied the score twice but could not get in front.​

Unfortunately, UH, who missed just two free throws in the first half, missed nine in the second half (13-for-22), and committed an egregious eight turnovers to Nevada's four. The 3-point shooting also hurt, as neither team hit a triple in the second half. UH went 0-for-4, and Nevada went 0-for-7.​

"Sometimes, you don't want to outsmart yourself," Ganot said of the missed free throws. "We have a humbling blue-collar team."​

"It's one of those games where both teams are not shooting well," Noel added of the triple-less second half. "There's going to be games like that."​

Hawaiʻi remained nearby and gave themselves a chance to win in the closing stages thanks to a Mor Seck block; unfortunately, JoVon McClanahan committed a costly double-dribble with three seconds left. Nevada was able to close things out at the free-throw line, and they handed Hawaiʻi its first loss at home.​

UH now drops to 7-2 this season, while Nevada improves to 9-1. UH will return to the Stan Sheriff Center on Thursday, Dec. 21 against the Portland Pilots in the first round of the 2023 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. HST. You can watch the game on ESPN2 or listen on the radio at ESPN Honolulu.